Total pages in book: 59
Estimated words: 56672 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 283(@200wpm)___ 227(@250wpm)___ 189(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 56672 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 283(@200wpm)___ 227(@250wpm)___ 189(@300wpm)
“You’re good, Wes. You’ll do what you need to support her, your child, and be a better version of yourself than you were, okay?” He nods into my shoulder. I keep him in my arms until he calms down a little bit. Nothing to be ashamed of when a man cries, especially in these circumstances. Shit, I’ve cried a few times throughout the years—when Wes was born. The nights when he was crying non-stop, having not one single fucking idea how to console him, when he hit a certain milestone in life. Damn, I’ve got a few tears I’m shedding of my own right now. I never wanted Wes to have to learn the hard way. Sadly, you can’t cushion their fall every damn time. I will say, I’ve got some worries. He is only the tip of the iceberg, too. Raquel moving away means my first grandchild won’t be here in town, and that’s going to fucking blow.
“Yeah, I’m going to. My next stop is the grands tomorrow morning, then Coop and Gia’s.” He pulls away. My hands go to his shoulders. Wes is only a couple of inches shorter than my six-foot-three stature, but I make sure we’re on eye level, not wanting his eyes to stay in a downward cast manner.
“That’s good. You know I’ll be here, whenever you need me, but you gotta do this on your own, alright?” He nods. I’m hoping he understands that he’ll be putting in a lot of work and effort into repairing relationships.
“I know. I’m going to get things squared away here, probably move closer to Raquel.” My facial expression must be visible because he starts right away, “Not in that kind of way. I want to be a part of our child’s life and her pregnancy. I can’t necessarily take that on three hours away.” Fuck, did Wes do a complete one-eighty in the span of a week? I guess becoming a father will make it happen. It did for me.
“Probably a good idea. You need help moving, let me know. I’ll help where I can. Love you, Wes.” My lips hit his forehead, not caring he’s in his thirties. He’ll always be my boy.
“Love you, too. Tell Josie I’m sorry, okay? And I’m happy for you, really. I was a shit. Still am, truthfully. I’m going to head home. I’ll call you when I have a more solid game plan.” He barrels into me, clearly needing another hug, and I’ll gladly hold him. There was a time in his teenage years when I’d barely get a hug, a pat on the back, or a hello. Grunts, I got grunts, specifically early in the mornings. It got better as he got older. He also veered off the path of how I raised him more often than not, pretty obvious since he’s in his thirties and finally growing up.
“Sounds good, bud.” I kiss the side of his head before we break a part.
“See ya later, Dad.”
“Later, bud. Don’t be a stranger. I’m always here if you need an ear, alright?” I make sure he knows, no matter what, I’ve got nothing but unconditional love for him.
“I’ll take you up on that,” he replies.
32
TRACE
I watch as he turns around, hands back in his pockets, shoulders slumped. He’s got a lot to work on, namely himself. I stay standing, my eyes locked on him as he makes it to his car and slides inside, giving me a wave before starting it up, and then driving away. I walk out to the driveway, watching as his lights get smaller and smaller the further he drives away, unsure of how long I stand there. . I hate what Wes is going through and knowing there isn’t a damn thing I can do. Two arms wrap around my waist from behind, and I take my first easy breath since Wes dropped the news on his impending fatherhood, me becoming a grandfather, plus he and Raquel will be single parents. It’s going to be hard. Hopefully, they can at least co-parent together, if Wes can pull his head out of his ass, that is. The jury is still out as far as I’m concerned.
“You okay?” Josie asks I lift my arm and slide her body around until she’s tucked into my side, head tipped up and arms locked around me.
“I will be, got my woman by my side, my boy is getting his shit together and I’m going to be a grandad.” A soft smile tips her lips.
“Wow, a grandpa.” Her voice doesn’t waiver. She’s not upset or worried about the massive age gap.
“Yep, probably going to be gone a weekend or two once Wes gets things settled, he’s going to move to be closer to Raquel and their child, work on fixing his shit or at least that’s what he says he plans on doing,” Josie moves her hand until it’s laying on top of my heart, soothing a part of me I wasn’t away I needed soothed. That’s what Josie does, she settles me, slows me down, makes me realize there’s more to life than my son and work.